I knew you by heart
by Quiet.Flight.Risk
Summary: Klaus and Caroline are happy together in New Orleans until a coven of witches take away Caroline's memories of Klaus. One-shot. Originally posted on tumblr for Klaroline Wednesday


**Based on this prompt by klovec (loveyou914 on tumblr) for Klaroline Wednesday: Caroline wakes up unconsciousness in a beautiful home but no memory of who she is. The maid runs out and comes back with a handsome man named Klaus who touches her face with familiarity. When she pulls back, he says: "Don't you remember me, Love? I'm your husband."**

 **Part 1**

They're in Klaus' studio when it happens.

She's laughing at something Klaus said - something along the lines of "I am the alpha male so stop fidgeting" - while posing for Klaus in a gorgeous 1920's frock from Rebekah's collection. Klaus smiles a boyish smile he reserved exclusively for his wife before eyes went back to the easel.

Caroline screams. It's piercing, as loud as a cannon. Within milliseconds, Klaus is by her side, arms wrapped around her shoulders as she clutches her head in pain.

"ELIJAH!" Klaus shouts, a desperate edge to his voice between murmurs of "what is it, love," and "you'll be all right."  
And then it is all over and Caroline is asleep.

* * *

When she wakes up, one of the most beautiful women she's ever seen in standing over her. She's dressed in midnight blue, in what looks to be some kind of uniform, but if so undoubtedly one designed for royalty. The woman has been fluffing pillows - Caroline notices she's in a gold-finished oak sleigh bed - but as she looks up, she starts.

"You're awake!" She squeaks, mouth agape. Caroline can't seem to be able to reply but nods to indicate that, yes, she is awake.

"I'll fetch the master, right away!" The woman, a maid, Caroline thinks, rushes out of the room

Caroline feels dazed. She's probably the most comfortable she's ever been because these sheets are heaven, and the room is one of the most beautifully decorated places she's ever seen, like Versailles or Buckingham Palace. But she doesn't know where she is. She tries to remember what happened to her.

Try as she might, she doesn't know what happened after she started making out with Tyler on Senior Prank Night… So where is Tyler? Why isn't she at school? Why is it daylight outside? There is a large window through which sunlight is pouring through, but she had a feeling it isn't Mystic Falls sunlight.

She tries to sit up as she hears footsteps down the passage and doorknob turn. The maid sticks her head in the room and practically squeals, "Your husband is here to see you!"

A figure vamp-speeds past her. The first thing Caroline notices about him are his eyes. They are blue, with little specks of green, and glow slightly, like a cat's in the dark. He is very handsome, anyone could see that. And the smile he wears is completely genuine and completely in love.

Because she is his wife, she remembers. She frowns and hesitantly says, "I'm not really sure who you are but you're not my husband."

The man frowns, then turns to glare at the maid if this was personally her fault. She scampers out of the room.

Caroline continues, trying to not break this guy's heart while saying, "I don't know who you think I am, but-"

He speaks for the first time. He has lyrical quality to his voice and an English accent she can't help but find a little sexy. He says, "Don't you remember me, love?" He speaks to her gently but his clenched jar gives away his frustration. "I am your husband," he insists, almost childishly.

Caroline begins to get a little frustrated with this man. "No, I'm not who you think-"

"Yes, you are. You are Caroline Forbes, a vampire from Mystic Falls, Virginia. Your favourite blood type is B+ and your favourite movie is Titanic. You once buried your friend's Teddy bear in the woods. And you love being a vampire because its makes you feel strong and fearless. I've loved you for ten years, Caroline!"

Caroline's face is pale with shock. This man knows things about her that he couldn't know without her telling him. But she's never seen him before. Or, at least, not that she can remember.

Her eyes start to water with frustration. She's embarrassed to be crying in front of this stranger. The man's eyes soften and he says, "Look, it'll be all right. I know this is overwhelming right now but you're Caroline and I'm Klaus and together-"

"Did you just say that you're Klaus?" Caroline shrieks. She recoils from Klaus, who is sitting inches from her on the side of the bed "Oh my god, is this some sort of scheme?" Klaus begins to protest. "Did you kidnap me to get to Elena or something?"

"No!" He leans towards her to touch arm.

"Get away from me! You're a monster."

Instinctively, Klaus utters something that's a cross between a whimper and snarl. There's something akin to hurt in his eyes, which Caroline very nearly ignores over her rage.

Her breath gets shallower and shallower as she panics. She's inches away from the Original Hybrid! She scrambles out of the bed and to her feet, which feel unsteady as she hits the ground. She tries to run to the door but Klaus is too fast for her. He pins her - thought perhaps embraces her is a more accurate word - to his chest, just hard enough that she can't get away, and just loose enough that he doesn't hurt her. She struggles for a minute, then stops. She is completely still, a wolf waiting to pounce. She looks up at him, this strange man, this hybrid. She's unimpressed. Caroline was expecting a lot more terrifying a man than this young, hot guy. He's not even that much taller than her. From the stories Elena's told her, she was expecting someone a little more feral. All she needs to do now is get him to let her go. Well, Caroline's always been good at distraction…

She looks up at him through her long, dark eyelashes, the very picture of innocence. Her eyes go wide, seemingly sad and frightened. She presses into his chest just the smallest bit and steadies her breathing. Then, suddenly, she stumbles back, legs folding as falls onto the bed.

It works like a charm. Klaus lets go immediately and starts towards the door as if to get help. When he looks back, Caroline is gone.

* * *

"How could you have let her go, Nik?" Rebekah admonishes him, shaking her head. Niklaus says nothing, only stares down into his glass of liquor. Rebekah sighs. "Why didn't she recognize you though?" He remains silent. "You said she'd heard of you, that she was frightened of you, but how can that be if she didn't recognise you?"

"I was in town for months before I met Caroline." Klaus' voice was monotone, showing no trace of grief or regret.

"Still how does a vampire suddenly get amnesia?" Rebekah persists. The whitening of Klaus' knuckles as they tighten around his glass warns her to be quiet.

There is a deafening silent. Rebekah plays with her hair. Klaus drinks. Entire silent minutes go by before Klaus' phone rings. He's picked up before the second ring. "Ripper," he greets.

* * *

He should have known Caroline would go straight back to Mystic Fall, Virginia. He thinks he's worked out by now that Caroline's last memories date back to before she met Klaus, so when she was still tied to her small-town boy and small-town life. Still, he's surprised that someone's who's never left their home state, even a vampire, has been able to travel a thousand miles in a few hours. He doesn't know how he'll approach her when he gets there but has to make her understand who she is to him. He can't go through another decade of trying to get her to give him a chance; he simply doesn't have the stamina.

* * *

Caroline Forbes is confused. Actually, Caroline Forbes feels like her world is falling apart – or rather, she's woken up to a fallen-apart world. As soon as she left Klaus' mansion and landed in the middle of New Orleans, she understood that she was in the future. The phones were newer, smaller, and didn't even have phone apps anymore. Half the cars were electric. Humans interjected the oddest expressions into their dialogue.  
And this had to mean that, yes, she had… amnesia. Which meant that she was also Klaus' wife.

Nevertheless, she compelled herself the nearest car and drove at top speed back to Mystic Falls. It was her home and, while in any other scenario, she'd love to stick around for the guided visit of New Orleans, she's got bigger fish to fry. Like figuring out whatever the hell happened to her.

Her first stop is Elena's house. Or, at least, her first stop would be Elena's house if in its stead didn't stand a brand new cottage rather than the colonial house that had practically been a second home to Caroline. She sits there for a while, trying to imagine what circumstances must have led to the Gilbert House's destruction.

After a few moments of mourning, Caroline makes a beeline for the Salvatore Boarding House. She practically sighs in relief when she sees it still standing there, a pillar of stability in Caroline's otherwise shifting world. What's even better is that everyone's there, as if waiting for her. They all jump up as she walks in.

Elena immediately runs up to her friend and hugs her tight. "How was your trip?" Elena asks.

Caroline sort of nods and mutters, "Good."

The others look at her expectantly. They are waiting for her to say something about the time-lapse thing.

So, obligingly, Caroline says, "I woke up this morning and the last thing I remember was Senior Prank Night and being with Tyler." At this, Caroline looks around to see Tyler in the far corner, avoiding her eyes. "But when I woke up, it was 2025, and, um, Klaus, who I've never seen before in my life, says that he's my husband." She crosses her arms firmly, giving her friends a look that says, 'Explain.'

There's a pause, the other looking around at each other as if testing who was going to speak first. Then Elena giggles, but it's a nervous kind of giggle, and she avoids Caroline's eyes. "Well, Klaus is definitely in love with you but you're not married to him! You've been travelling for years by yourself, actually. And Klaus has been in New Orleans with his family."

And Caroline can tell that Elena is lying.

* * *

She doesn't hold it against Elena that she's lied to her best friend. After all, if Elena had amnesia, would she be the first one to tell her that she was in a very happy relationship with Damon of all people ? (Yeah, apparently that happened in the last thirteen years)

But now Caroline knows - maybe because of her gut feeling or maybe because she recognises more sincerity in Klaus, a murderous hybrid, than Elena, her childhood best friend - that she is Klaus' wife. Which means that at some point, Caroline fell out of love with Tyler and fell in love with the most dangerous creature on the planet.

So now Caroline wants answers.

That's why when it's Klaus that shows up at her door, all she has to say is, "Show me."

* * *

 **Part 2**

Klaus is outside of Caroline's home. It's 4 in the morning. She's asleep inside. He's stalking her.

It's been awhile since he's done anything like this. In fact, he hasn't since Caroline showed up at his doorstep five years ago. Not that he was stalking her before. Only, just occasionally, he would show up in Madrid or Istanbul or Buenos Aires and watch her for a few hours as she discovered the places she'd been missing when she was holed up here in Mystic Falls.  
And now she's back here, almost a decade after she left small-town Virginia. Klaus snarls at the thought of this setback, wishing to personally tare the throat of whoever was responsible. Speaking of which, he should check what Rebekah had found so far, as he has some time to kill before Caroline wakes.

The phone rings six times before Rebekah answers. Klaus wonders whether she's purposefully trying to annoy him. "Hello," she says in a bored voice.

"Hello, little sister."

"Ah, Nik," she says far too coolly for Klaus' tastes. "Have you stopped stalking dear Caroline yet or is she still proving how forgettable my brother is?"

"Now, now, Rebekah, all things in good time." There is a very awkward pause. Klaus waits for news but Rebekah is in a foul temper. Impatiently, he barks, "Have you found me a witch to murder yet for stealing all my wife's memories?"

"Alright, keep your hair on! I've heard of a witch by the name of Suzanna Parker. She's the leader of a contingent from Salem. I think she may be accompanied by a Bennett witch. The local witches think they were responsible because they left the night Caroline's memories were taken. They're apparently pretty anti-vampire."

"Tell some of the minions to find them and bring them to New Orleans." Klaus snarls. It was an order, not a request. "I'll deal with them when I get home."

"Nik-" starts Rebekah, in a much more serious tone, "If you're going to try and bring Caroline's memories back, you may be in Mystic Falls for a lot longer than you expected."

"Well, then, kill them yourself if you must." His voice is almost a shade hesitant, revealing to his sister his uncertainty about the coming weeks trying to bring Caroline's memories back to her.

"Nik-" Rebekah begins again.

Klaus interrupts, "Do not worry, sister. Caroline has already realised that we have some history and has agreed to let me show her our time together. She'll soon be up to speed." He sounds optimistic but it is not mystery that Klaus himself is not convinced by his own words. He hangs up before Rebekah can plant any more doubts in his mind.

Then he is alone again, beneath the waning moonlight as the sky slowly lightens.

* * *

Klaus notices immediately when Caroline begins to stir in the morning. He begins to twitch. First, his lip begins to quiver ever so slightly. Next, his hand start to tap against his legs. His foot taps on the floor of his car. He fights all his instincts to race into the Forbes house and begin the process of getting his wife back. But he doesn't do this because he knows it would only set his cause back. He needs to let Caroline Forbes know he can be trusted. The one advantage he now has is that Caroline has never witnessed any of the horrors he's afflicted onto her loved ones - or even onto Caroline herself - first-hand.

He instantly regrets his decision to wait in the car when he sees Stefan Salvatore practically skipping up Caroline Forbes-Mikaelson's front steps. In a flash, Klaus is in front of the Ripper, barring his entry into the house. In his most passive-aggressive voice, he asks, "Can I help you with anything Rippah?" He's speaking as low as physically possible just in case Caroline can hear him.

"Actually, Klaus, I thought it would be a good idea if I took Caroline out for the day after all she's been through in the past 36 hours." The Ripper is making his stupid everything's-ok grin. Coupled with the ever-present hero hair, Klaus is very tempted to stick a piece of wood in his abdomen.

Klaus mirrors Stefan's smirk, shaking his head. "I don't think that's a good idea mate. It wouldn't do to confuse Caroline with some silly stories, would it?"

Stefan flashes a Cheshire-cat smile. "You're afraid I'm going to tell her all the horrible things I've done, aren't you?"

"No, I'm afraid you're going to tell her one side of the story," says Klaus, gritting his teeth in frustration.

Stefan's smile disappears, melting into his familiar concentrated frown. "Look, Klaus, I don't know if you realise this but Caroline doesn't trust you at the moment. She trusts us, her friends. But unlike Elena and Bonnie, I actually think that Caroline is happy with you. So I suggest you take a backseat for now and go find out if there's a way to reverse the spell while Caroline and I talk."

As if on queue, the front door opens to reveal Caroline herself. She looks startled to see both of them there, standing agape, unsure of what to say to the man who knew her as his wife and who she knew as the enemy.

Stefan rescues her, explaining, "I thought that I could catch you up to the gossip today, and maybe go hunting too?"

Caroline nods, flashing a quick smile at Klaus as she scurries inside to find her bag.

* * *

Caroline and Stefan's first stop is at the Mystic Falls Grill. Stefan figures it would be good to take Caroline to an environment she's familiar with. They make awkward small talk on the way in, mostly consisting of what Jeremy and Matt have been doing for the last ten years of their human lives.

"So Damon and Elena, huh?" Caroline says, as they sit, avoiding Stefan's eyes. "How do feel about that?"

Stefan chuckles slightly. "It's fine. Honestly, I got over it a long time ago."

"Yeah, of course." She nods and scans Stefan's face for any lingering signs of hurt. "It's only that the last thing I can remember about you is your tearing across the East Coast with Klaus to distract him from Elena. It's difficult to imagine that kind of love dying."

Stefan looks thoughtful, contemplating Caroline's words. "It didn't. But the Elena we know today isn't the same woman she was a fifteen years ago. She changed when she became a vampire."

Caroline shakes her head, completely confused at what could trigger such a change in the girl she considered to be a surrogate sister to her. As another thought occurs to her though, she grins and says in a sing-songy voice, "So do you have anyone special in your life now?"

Stefan chuckles. "No, nothing you can gossip with Bonnie about."

There is a pregnant pause in the conversation. They both know what they must talk about next but neither wish to bring it up. Finally Caroline says, "Elena lied to me about Klaus, didn't she?" It's as if she's giving Stefan a way out. Like saying, 'You don't have to say it if you don't want to.'

"Yes, she did." Stefan states.

"Why?" Caroline asks, totally bewildered.

"Elena was never the most supportive of you and Klaus," Stefan admits. "I mean, all of us were pretty surprised at first but Elena took especially hard."

"Can you blame her, though?" Caroline points out. "He killed her Aunt Jenna and dragged you into Ripper mode." She's looking down the table, playing with the ice in her cup of Diet Coke.

For Stefan, it's so disorientating for Caroline to see Klaus in such a way. He speaks more loudly and firmly as he says, "You loved Klaus. Anybody could see that you two were really happy in New Orleans. He would do anything for you and you brought out a different side to him. You have to try and believe that."

Caroline doesn't look up him for a few moments before staring into his brown eyes, almost as if she could compel him, and asking, "Can you show me?"

* * *

Bonnie's been out with her mother all morning. They'd recently reconnected and now had brunch every other Sunday together. It was nice to finally start getting to know her mom after she'd been absent most of her childhood. Bonnie unlocks her front door, puts down her keys on a side table and turns to walk into the living room…only to find Klaus sitting on one of her armchairs, completely at home.

Bonnie visibly jumps with shock. "What are you doing here?" she demands.

"Nice to see you to Bonnie," he says sarcastically. "I hope your meeting with your mother went well?" The threat is not lost on Bonnie.

"What do you want?" Her cold voice informs Klaus that he is not welcome in her house.

"Only to restore my wife's memories so he can come home to New Orleans, where she belongs," Klaus states. "Could you help me with that, Bonnie?"

Bonnie lets out a very small sigh, relieved that Klaus isn't asking her, for once, to do anything to betray her friends. But is this request really any better? Bonnie know she can't bring Caroline's memories back and she's afraid of what Klaus may do once confronted with this. "The only time I can think of where memories were restored to someone by magic is when Qetsiyah gave Stefan's memories back. But not only is she far more powerful that I am but she took his memories away in the first place," Bonnie explains, sitting across from Klaus.

"Ah, but Rebekah says the coven which cast the spell included a Bennett witch," Klaus points out. "Therefore your line is responsible for the spell!" Klaus smirks triumphantly.

Bonnie shakes her head. "It doesn't work like that. You need to get the coven to bring Caroline's memories back."

* * *

"Sister, I'm going to need you to make sure those witches survive and are held captive," Rebekah hears Klaus say over the phone.

"Right," she replies, slightly annoyed at Klaus' sporadic whims. She hangs up without another word. Turning to the coven of witches she's currently in the middle of torturing, she flashes a sly smile and says, "Looks like today is your lucky day."

* * *

 _Stefan stands with his ear pressed against his cell phone. "Hey, Caroline," he greets her cheerily. "Where are you this time."_

 _"I'm actually in New Orleans." Caroline's voice sounds hesitant, but brighter than normal._

 _"So, you and Klaus…?" Stefan trails off, not sure if he really wants details._

 _A sound is heard from the background. Klaus says, "Come back to bed, love." Caroline shushes him, giggling. "Yeah, we're together now."_

 _"And you're happy?" Stefan asks._

 _"Yes," Caroline says, "Deliriously so."_

The memory ends and Caroline's eyes open. They're sitting in the Salvatore Boarding House's sitting room, where Stefan has shown Caroline one of his earliest memories of Caroline and Klaus' relationship.

"That was the first time I think I realised that there was more than just physical attraction between you and Klaus," Stefan explains to a dumbfounded Caroline. "We knew that Klaus loved you years before this because you were the only one who could distract Klaus. We used to send you to talk to him when we were trying to avert his attention during our plots against him."

"And what about Tyler?" Caroline asks. She's been wondering about Tyler for hours. The last thing she remembers is being completely head-over-heels for the werewolf.

"Klaus turned Tyler into a hybrid the night you two met for the first time. After that your relationship changed. Tyler had to flee Mystic Falls for months at a time."

"Which gave Klaus the chance to swoop in and try to steal me from him," Caroline thought aloud, a bitter edge to her voice.

"But it wasn't like that. You and Tyler just grew apart," Stefan says, trying as best as he can to not alienate Caroline against Klaus. Their relationship was such a complicated story but he couldn't see the need to tell Caroline every detail immediately.

Caroline presses her hands against her lips in concentration, trying desperately to figure out what to think about her being in love with the most dangerous creature to ever walk the planet. She doesn't understand how she could have put aside all the blood spilt by Klaus long enough to fall in love with him. "Show me more, please," she requests.

 _Stefan is on the front porch of an elaborate colonial plantation house, painted in white with wrought iron windows. He opens the door and turns only to find Klaus and Caroline kissing passionately on the counter of their large kitchen. Caroline spots Stefan out of the corner of her eye, her eyes go wide in panic and she quickly pushes Klaus away._

* * *

Caroline returns home after a long day of examining her past with Klaus from Stefan's point of view. She wishes she could experience the memories of her falling in love with Klaus but she's not sure if she trusts him yet. Then again, now she can see that Stefan was right: Klaus and Caroline had been completely devoted to each other before Caroline lost her memories.

Klaus is waiting for her on the front porch, exactly like she'd found him this morning, almost as if he hasn't moved all day. He watches her come closer with a kind of hunger in his eyes, the effort of restraint visible on his expression.

"Would you like to come in?" she asks, though it's more of a demand than a question. Klaus very nearly smiles. It reminds him of the old Caroline. When they're both inside and Caroline has made them each a cup of coffee, Caroline says, "I don't feel the same way I do about you that I did before they took my memories away."

"I know," Klaus says, almost sadly, looking down at the kitchen counter.

"But I know I loved you," Caroline says slowly, "And I'd really like to find out more. So I was wondering if you could show me when I first told you that I loved you."

Klaus allows himself to gently touch Caroline's hand, surprised when she doesn't flinch away, and pulls her into a memory.

 _Klaus stands in the art studio in the New Orleans compound, having a drink of something vintage, like Scotch or Bourbon. He's painting Caroline, using colours her exclusively reserves for her: yellows, oranges, pinks._

 _Someone knocks on his door. He turns around, ready to shout at whoever dares to interrupt his painting. But his eyes soften when he sees her in the doorway._

 _Caroline walks towards the easel, frowns at it, then smiles. Glancing at Klaus, she says, "This is my favourite so far."_

 _"I'm a selfish man, love," he admits, not able to stop himself from smiling. "The pictures I sent you were shoddy compared to the works I kept for myself."_

 _Caroline scoff and pretends to be offended, a mimicking smile dancing on her lips. There is a pause as she contemplates the picture in front of her._

 _Finally, Klaus, unable to stop himself, asks, "Why are you here, love?"_

 _She turns to him as she turns the question over in her mind. "I love you," she says simply._

* * *

Klaus is never able to return Caroline's memories to her, however much he tries. One by one, the coven witches die, some by his hand, but most from exhaustion after trying for decades to reverse their spell.

Caroline returns with Klaus to New Orleans. It takes another five years, but eventually she tells him "I love you" for the second first time.

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